Chelsea vs Southampton: Preview of Boxing Day Clash at the Bridge
Southampton will travel to London on Boxing Day to take on the Blues of Chelsea who currently sit fourth in the Premier League.
These two teams clashed early in October when Chelsea came to St. Mary’s and won in convincing fashion, 1-4.
Both teams are coming off of victories in their last Premier League matches and will look to pick up another three points and give their supporters a late Christmas present on Boxing Day.
So let us take a look at how both teams can walk away victorious.
How Chelsea Will Win
Chelsea, are coming off an impressive away victory against Tottenham on Sunday beating their former manager 2-0.
This young Chelsea side are led by the likes of Tammy Abraham, Willian and N’Golo Kante. Abraham, is their leading scorer with 11 goals on the season and will look to add to that total on Thursday.
The Blues have scored 33 goals in 18 matches so far this season and their quick strike attack could have a field day with a Southampton defense that struggle with players who make intelligent runs forward without the ball.
The midfield will be key for Chelsea to unlock the Saints defense and if they get time and space to operate they will create plenty of chances and will likely put more than one of them in the back of the net.
How Southampton Will Win
This will not be an easy match for Southampton to get a result in. They will need to score multiple goals if they hope to get a result because it is likely they will not keep a clean sheet against this Chelsea side.
The key to Saints victory will be if they can successfully press Chelsea into turning the ball over deep in their own territory and not allowing them to possess the ball for long periods of time. If the Saints sit back and invite pressure, they are going to concede and concede often.
Southampton have proven they can successfully press teams into turning the ball over but they have an issue when it comes to converting those chances into shots and those shots into goals.
They will need to be clinical on Thursday and if they can put up 2 or more goals on Thursday there is a chance they come away with points.
Next. Loan Deal in the Cards for Che Adams. dark
Predicted Line-ups
Chelsea: 4-2-3-1
Goalkeeper: Kepa Arrizabalaga
Defenders: Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger, Fikayo Tomori, Emerson
Midfielders: Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante
Attacking Midfielders: Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount, Willian
Striker: Tammy Abraham
Southampton: 4-2-2-2
Goalkeeper: Alex McCarthy
Defenders: Cedric, Jan Bednarek, Jack Stephens, Ryan Bertrand
Midfielders: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oriol Romeu
Attacking Midfielders: James Ward-Prowse, Nathan Redmond
Strikers: Danny Ings, Che Adams
Predicted Score:
Chelsea 3-1 Southampton